While working with an advisor students conduct research and write a thesis.

Advanced Environmental Fluid Dynamics (EFD) is an applied branch of fluid mechanics devoted to studying fluid systems in nature, including atmospheric boundary layers and aquatic environments, such as lakes, rivers, and coastal seas. In particular, EFD aims to characterize the mechanisms governing the transport of heat, dissolved, and suspended matter in fluid environments, which together play a critical role in the functioning of ecosystems.
This course will introduce the underlying physics governing motion in natural fluids, with
emphasis on water bodies. We will discuss the transport equations that model fluid flows
affected by vertical and horizontal density gradients, the effect of Earth rotation in fluid
trajectories, and the main natural drivers responsible for energizing fluid flows, such as wind and heat fluxes. The course will revisit analytical results characterizing specific type flows in nature, and we will discuss open topics that are under development.

Environmental Fluid Dynamics (EFD) is an applied branch of fluid mechanics devoted to studying fluid systems in nature, including atmospheric boundary layers and aquatic environments, such as lakes, rivers, and coastal seas. In particular, EFD aims to characterize the mechanisms governing the transport of heat, dissolved, and suspended matter in fluid environments, which together play a critical role in the functioning of ecosystems. This course will introduce the underlying physics governing motion in natural fluids, with
emphasis on water bodies. We will discuss the transport equations that model fluid flows affected by vertical and horizontal density gradients, the effect of Earth rotation in fluid trajectories, and the main natural drivers responsible for energizing fluid flows, such as wind and heat fluxes. The course will revisit analytical results characterizing specific type flows in nature, and we will discuss open topics that are under development.

This course covers Earth System dynamics from the viewpoint of deep time. Specifically, the course focuses on (i) the history of our planet and its life, (ii) the physical, chemical and biological feedbacks driving evolution and (iii) the evidence that has given us access into the understanding of the Geologic Time Scale.

Patterns on the Earth's surface arise due to the transport of sediment by water and wind, with energy that is supplied by climate and tectonic deformation of the solid Earth. This course presents a treatment of the processes of erosion and deposition that shape landscapes. Emphasis will be placed on using simple physical principles as a tool for (a) understanding landscape patterns including drainage networks, river channels and deltas, desert dunes, and submarine channels, (b) reconstructing past environmental conditions using the sedimentary record, and (c) the management of rivers and landscapes under present and future climate scenarios. The course will conclude with a critical assessment of landscape evolution on other planets, including Mars.

The culmination of the Earth Science major. Students, while working with an advisor in their concentration, conduct research and write a thesis.

Patterns on the Earth's surface arise due to the transport of sediment by water and wind, with energy that is supplied by climate and tectonic deformation of the solid Earth. This course presents a treatment of the processes of erosion and deposition that shape landscapes. Emphasis will be placed on using simple physical principles as a tool for (a) understanding landscape patterns including drainage networks, river channels and deltas, desert dunes, and submarine channels, (b) reconstructing past environmental conditions using the sedimentary record, and (c) the management of rivers and landscapes under present and future climate scenarios. The course will conclude with a critical assessment of landscape evolution on other planets, including Mars.

Public perceptions and attitudes concerning the causes and importance of globalwarming have changed. Global Climate Change provides a sound theoretical understanding of global warming through an appreciation of the Earth's climate system and how and why this has changed through time. We will describe progress in understanding of the human and natural drivers of climate change, climate pr0cesses and attribution, and estimates of projected future climate change. We will assess scientific, tehnical, and socio-economic information relevant for the understanding of climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation.

The oceans cover over 2/3 of the Earth's surface. This course introduces basic oceanographic concepts such as plate tectonics, marine sediments, physical and chemical properties of seawater, ocean circulation, air-sea interactions, waves, tides, nutrient cycles in the ocean, biology of the oceans, and environmental issues related to the marine environment.

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to theory and applications of chemistry in the earth and environmental sciences. Theory covered will include atomic structure, chemical bonding, cosmic abundances, nucleosynthesis,radioactive decay, dating of geological materials, stable isotopes, acid-base equilibria, salts and solutions, and oxidation-reduction reactions. Applications will emphasize oceanography, atmospheric sciences and environmental chemistry, as well as other topics depending on the interests of the class. Although we will review the basics, this course is intended to supplement, rather than to replace, courses offered in the Department of Chemistry. It is appropriate for advanced undergraduate as well as graduate students in Geology, Environmental Science, Chemistry and other sciences, who wish to have a better understanding of these important chemical processes.